Acma:Game: Saigo no Kagi (Acma:Game: The Final Key), the live-action film adaptation of Kōji Megumi and Meebu‘s Acma:Game manga, opened at #4 at the Japanese box office on Friday. The film sold 45,700 tickets from Friday to Sunday earning 63,347,000 yen (about US$414,275).
The cast from the TV series returns for the film. Shōtarō Mamiya reprises his role as Teruasa Oda, along with SixTONES member Juri Tanaka in the role of Ui Saitō. Kotone Furukawa, Ryō Ryūsei, Lina Arashi, and Yukiyoshi Ozawa also reprise their roles from the series.
Tōya Satō, who directed the TV series, directs the movie as well at NTV AX-ON. Scriptwriters Yoshihiro Izumi and Junichirō Taniguchi also return for the film’s screenplay, with visual effects by Digital Frontier.
The film continues the story from the series as the cast battle for the final devil’s key. The production filmed not only within Japan but overseas as well.
The manga centers around Teruasa Oda, a high school senior gifted in smarts, looks, and money. This seemingly perfect scion of Japan’s powerful Oda Group gets caught in a nightmarish game with the son of the Belmont mafia family’s boss.
©がんばっていきまっしょい製作委員会
Give It All, the theatrical anime of Yoshiko Shikimura‘s Ganbatte Ikimasshoi novel, opened at #9 on Friday. The film earned 32,135,440 yen (about US$210,100) in its first three days.
The film’s title roughly translates to “let’s go and give it our best” but was used as a cheer (or rallying cry) at the high school alma mater in Ehime prefecture of the original author Yoshiko Shikimura. The phrase is used at the end of the above video while the characters are rowing.
Yūhei Sakuragi (The Relative Worlds, Ingress) is directing the film, and is also penning the script alongside Keiichirō Ōchi (Aikatsu!, The Quintessential Quintuplets). Asako Nishida (Love Live! School idol project, Land of the Lustrous) is designing the characters. Studio Moe and REIRS are animating the film. The city of Matsuyama in Ehime prefecture is collaborating on the film. Shochiku will distribute the film.
The novel centers on the members of a boat club at a girls high school in Matsuyama City in Ehime prefecture. The original novel won first prize at the “Bocchan Literary Prize” award in 1995. The novel inspired a live-action film in 1998, and a live-action series in 2005.
King of Prism: Dramatic Prism.1, the new theatrical anime in the King of Prism franchise, is still out of the top 10 in its 11th week, but still earned 33,839,050 yen (about US$221,200) from Friday to Sunday.
Kitarō Tanjō: Gegege no Nazo Shinsei-ban (True Birth Version), the recut version of the Kitarō Tanjō: Gegege no Nazo (The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe) anime film, dropped off the top 10 in its fourth weekend at the box office.
The Japanese theatrical compilation film screening of Voltes V: Legacy, the Filipino live-action remake of the classic Voltes V mecha anime, left the top 10 in its second weekend in theaters.
Eiga Given: Umi e (Given The Movie: To the Sea), the second film in the two-part sequel anime film project, stayed at #1 in the mini-theater rankings in its sixth weekend.
The re-release of Gekijō-ban Mahō Shōjo Madoka Magica [Shinpen]: Hangyaku no Monogatari (Madoka Magica The Movie -Rebellion-), the third film in the Puella Magi Madoka Magica franchise, opened at #2 on the mini-theater rankings.
Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2) (link 3), comScore via KOFIC